'Vultures' by Chinua Achebe: African Literature (1).pptx

This Presentation is prepared as a part of Classroom Presentation under paper named African Literature.

1. ‘Vultures’ by Chinua Achebe Prepared by : Rinkal Dangar

2. Table of Contents 1. About the Poet 2. Poem 3. Analysis of ‘Vultures’ 4. Conclusion

3. Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (born November 16, 1930, Ogidi, Nigeria—died March 21, 2013, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.) was a Nigerian novelist acclaimed for his unsentimental depictions of the social and psychological disorientation accompanying the imposition of Western customs and values upon traditional African society Achebe grew up in the Igbo (Ibo) town of Ogidi, Nigeria. After studying English and literature at University College (now the University of Ibadan) Achebe taught for a short time before joining the staff of the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation in Lagos, where he served as director of external broadcasting in 1961–66. In 1967 he co founded a publishing company at Enugu with the poet Christopher Okigbo, who died shortly thereafter in the Nigerian civil war for Biafran independence, which Achebe openly supported. In 1969 Achebe toured the United States with fellow writers Gabriel Okara and Cyprian Ekwensi, lecturing at universities. Upon his return to Nigeria he was appointed research fellow at the University of Nigeria and became professor of English, In 2007 he won the Man Booker International Prize.

4. Novels: Things Fall Apart (1958), No Longer at Ease (1960), In Arrow of God (1964), A Man of the People (1966) and Anthills of the Savannah (1987) deal with corruption and other aspects of postcolonial African life. Collections of Short stories and Children’s books: How the Leopard Got His Claws (1973; with John Iroaganachi), Beware, Soul-Brother (1971), and Christmas in Biafra (1973) are collections of poetry. Another Africa (1998) combines an essay and poems by Achebe with photographs by Robert Lyons. Books of Essays Morning Yet on Creation Day (1975), Hopes and Impediments (1988), Home and Exile (2000), The Education of a British-Protected Child (2009), The Autobiographical ; There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra (2012). Works of Chinua Achebe

5. In the greyness and drizzle of one despondent dawn unstirred by harbingers( announcement of another arrival) of sunbreak a vulture perching high on broken bones of a dead tree nestled close to his mate his smooth bashed-in head, a pebble on a stem rooted in a dump of gross feathers, inclined affectionately to hers. Yesterday they picked the eyes of a swollen corpse in a water-logged trench and ate the things in its bowel. Full gorged they chose their roost keeping the hollowed remnant in easy range of cold telescopic eyes... Vultures Strange indeed how love in other ways so particular will pick a corner in that charnel-house tidy it and coil up there, perhaps even fall asleep - her face turned to the wall! Thus the Commandant at Belsen Camp going home for the day with fumes of human roast clinging rebelliously to his hairy nostrils will stop at the wayside sweet-shop and pick up a chocolate for his tender offspring waiting at home for Daddy's return... Praise bounteous providence if you will that grants even an ogre a tiny glow-worm tenderness encapsulated in icy caverns of a cruel heart or else despair for in the very germ of that kindred love is lodged the perpetuity of evil.

6. The poem first appeared in Achebe's 1971 collection Beware Soul Brother, and Other Poems. In Chinua Achebe's "Vultures," a pair of grim birds nuzzling each other after devouring a rotting corpse become a metaphor for the uneasy fact that human beings are equally capable of love and evil. Just as vultures can feast on death and still cuddle, the speaker observes, the man who runs a Nazi death camp might pick up chocolates for his beloved children on the way home. Cruelty and tenderness can coexist in the same person. Analysis of ‘Vultures’

7. The Main Theme of the Poem The Uneasy Coexistence of Evil and Love: The poem’s speaker observes a vulture couple nuzzling each other affectionately after a grisly meal. Recently, the speaker notes, this pair were devouring a rotting corpse and “the things in its bowel,” and they’re still sitting within “easy range” of the last of the body in case they want leftovers.Their cuddling thus strikes a macabre contrast with their behavior and their surroundings. To the speaker, it seems awfully peculiar that “love in other / ways so particular” doesn’t seem reluctant to show up among creatures who have just fed on something so horrific. But this, the speaker reflects, is a metaphor for how things work among human beings, too. Just for example, the “Commandant” at Belsen (a notorious Nazi death camp) would have gone home from his evil day’s work with the “fumes of / human roast” still in his nose—and stopped at a candy store on the way to pick up a treat for his kids, who’d be waiting innocently at home for “Daddy’s / return.” . The speaker thus doesn’t know whether to “praise bounteous / providence” (that is, a generous God) for the fact that even the cruelest heart might contain a “tiny glow-worm” of “tenderness”—or to be appalled that “kindred love” can rest so comfortably alongside “the perpetuity / of evil.” Worse still, perhaps a capacity for evil is inseparable from a capacity for love, “lodged” in it like a splinter. The exact same phenomenon, the poem thus suggests, leaves its observers in an uneasy bind, unsure whether to find hope or horror in the simple fact that cruel and malicious people aren’t incapable of love. The poem’s fascination with dreadful images hints that this speaker, at least, leans more toward horror than consolation.

8. The poet has witnessed the cruelty of Nigerian civil war (the war was fought between the government of Nigeria and the republic of Biafra, a state which declared its independence from Nigeria in 1967). In the Nazi concentration camp of Belsen, a commandant was given a duty to observe the deaths of thousands of Jews. This cruelty is explained by the poet with the metaphor of Vultures Inspiration of the poem:

9. The poem is in free verse. There is no particular rhythm and rhyme scheme in the poem. There is a use of punctuation (ellipsis and enjambment). The poem contains disturbing imagery with impactful diction and contrast. Alliteration - drizzle of one despondent dawn Personification - broken bones of a dead tree Forms and technicalities:

10. "Vultures" by Chinua Achebe reveals the depths of human cruelty through the metaphor of vultures, symbolizing the Nazi commandant's actions. Despite the darkness, the poem suggests a glimmer of hope in the presence of love, even within the cruelest hearts. Achebe prompts readers to confront the complexity of human nature and the eternal struggle between light and darkness within us. Conclusion

11. Thank You!